I have just been reading all the xperts on why Geelong will win the 09 Premiership and how they should account for the Hawks in Rd1. I do believe the Cats have the better team on paper, but I wouldn't trade anyone from Hawthorn. Round 1 means nothing really. It's the last game of the year that counts(if u make it). If u go by the xperts the Hawks fluked the GF win, that means they must have fluked the other 4/5 wins aswell. 2009 is a new season. Go boys. Hopefully back to back. A hard task but you are capable.

The GF win was no fluke at all...They went in with a game plan,stuck to it,and dominated most of the match...They knew Buddy would be heavily targeted and adjusted...I'll be tipping them this week(every week)but am a little concerned about our injury toll that forced major changes during the pre-season matches...Some may not have fully recovered...Back to Back 08/09...

It was certainly no fluke. Hawthorn deserved to win because they had the better team on the day. Geelong had (& still have) the better team of the year so if the GF was replayed a week later I still maintain that I would've picked Geelong.

The media is giving the hawks a lot of credit for their fightback on fri but if we're honest,had the cats kicked straight,the game was well and truly over well before 3/4 time...One good quarter of footy is unlikely to beat anyone...Sure we had injured players who never made it onto the ground,but still ...

Finally starting to click...Injury toll still rising though and Campbell Brown looks like he may be sidelined for a few weeks ...Great to get the first win on the board though ...

On a sadder note for the club,former player Robert Dickson and his youngest son were killed in a car crash in Africa several days ago ...

.Film director and former Hawthorn and Brisbane footballer Robert Dickson has been killed in a car accident in Africa.

Dickson's five-year-old son, Byron, was also killed in the accident.

The documentary-maker was holidaying in South Africa with his family. Dickson's wife Dusty and older son Gabriel, 8, are receiving treatment in hospital.

Dickson, 45, has been widely recognised for his football documentaries, including the recently-broadcast Essence of the Game and Shane Crawford Exposed, released in 2004.

He was due to join the AIS AFL Academy tour of South Africa next week.

Dickson played 17 matches for Hawthorn between 1988 and 1990 and was named as an emergency for the Hawks' 1989 premiership team. He also played two matches for the Brisbane Bears in 1991.

His most recent documentary, The Essence of the Game, took a rare behind-the-scenes look at all levels of the game, including footage of Hawthorn's premiership victory last year.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou described Dickson as a talented and humble man.

"Rob was a personal friend and a great and positive force in life," Demetriou said.

"He was a wonderful filmmaker but above all he was a wonderful person who brought enormous empathy to what he was doing, whether it was filming an Auskick clinic or Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn captain) standing in the middle of the MCG savouring a premiership medal.

"He was one of those rare people who could capture on film the passion and beauty of the game and to articulate in images exactly what we all love about the game but struggle to be able to put into words."

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett today spoke on behalf of the Hawks in remembering Dickson.

"We're all shattered by the news," Kennett said.

"Rob was a very creative individual and well known in the AFL and particularly the Hawthorn family. He has done some wonderful work and that will forever be a tribute to his professionalism.

"Our condolences go out to his broader family and our thoughts are with his wife Dusty and son Gabriel as they continue to be treated in hospital for injuries sustained in the accident and come to terms with the loss of their father, husband, brother and son."

The Hawks will wear black armbands in Sunday's match against North Melbourne.

Dickson also won the reality TV show Australian Survivor, which screened in 2002

Hawthorn premiership defender Trent Croad has announced his retirement from the AFL, citing the effects of his long-standing foot injury.

““We say goodbye to a warrior who has served this club exceptionally well.”” – Jeff Kennett The Hawthorn president praises Trent Croad. Croad, who has battled for the past season with a foot injury, received medical advice that he could cause permanent damage to his left foot if he continued playing.

Croad, 29, said on Wednesday that he had been given no option but to quit after damaging the foot during the 2008 premiership.

He said he risked losing the use of the foot completely had he continued.

"This has been the most difficult decision of my life," Croad said.

"Although, I know now that my foot is just not able to meet the demanding rigors to play top-level football anymore, coming to the decision to step away from the sport that I love, a club that has been my second home and a game which has given me so much, is really hard.

"I have done everything within my power to try and play AFL football again, but following some time away with my family over Christmas, and further medical advice from my surgeon, I realise that it is my time to retire.

"It has been an honour to play for the Hawthorn Football Club and to win a premiership with this great club.

"I want to thank all my teammates, the football and admin staff and all our members for their support."

Hawthorn coach Alistair Clarkson said the club had pushed as hard as it could to test whether Croad could play this year, but it had become obvious over the past 10 weeks that would not be possible.

Hawks president Jeff Kennett had great praise for the retiring premiership defender.

"Today we say goodbye to a warrior who has served this club exceptionally well," Kennett said.

"We are terribly disappointed that this decision has had to be made but it has had to for the long-term interests of his own welfare.

"Trent will stay involved with the club as a friend and supporter, and we look forward to seeing his career develop in any way in which he may choose."

Croad retires having won All-Australian honours in 2005.

He also won selection for Australia in the International Rules series of 1999, 2000, and 2005.

Croad joined the Hawks as a first-round selection in the 1997 national draft, and he made his debut in his first season.

He kicking 84 goals from 79 games in four seasons with the club before he went to Fremantle as part of a trade that saw then-No.1 draft pick Luke Hodge and current Hawks captain Sam Mitchell join Hawthorn.

Croad, who played most of his early AFL football as a key forward, was traded back to the Hawks in 2004, and he went about establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the AFL. ...

Big Game this week. Not expected to win, but a Cats team without Mooney and Johnson should make it a bit easier for us. We need this win to stop the nay sayers. If we don't beat a top 4 team this year we will not be treated seriously. And idiots like mal Duxworthy on the Heraldsun website will not stop writing drivell.